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Wednesday, January 11, 2017

A Simply Perfect Piece of Marketing Magic

I
was flipping through an issue of Architectural Digest last night and came
across this stunning ad for JW Marriott--a simply perfect piece of marketing
magic.

The
intention of this delightful spread is to communicate something exceptional to
look for on your next stay at a JW, confident that the sophisticated
Architectural Digest-reading customer will indeed be staying at a JW again
sometime soon. In doing this, JW Marriott is keeping their brand top-of-mind.
And that's all they need to do.

JW
Marriott's reputation has already been established, and everyone knows what the
JW brand stands for. So they don't need to explain that in an ad. But they do
need to show why they should be the hotel of choice; they need to show what makes
them different, interesting, … better.

Sometimes
our most effective advertisements don't blatantly advertise what we're trying
to sell. Of course, JW Marriott put this ad out to book more reservations. But
they don't outright solicit bookings. They're not advertising a deal, a
special, or a gimmick. Rather, they're simply appealing to the target
reader--in this case, design aficionados--with a sleek, clean layout. Featuring
the ad in a publication full of color, they've chosen a black and white picture
highlighting beautiful architectural columns to grab the reader's eye paired
with spot-on soft pink and elegant, clean text to keep the reader engaged until
the simple message is received. It's exquisite.

Ads
are not the place to tell your customers every little detail about every little
service that you provide. And unless you're selling medication and legally
required to do so, ads generally are not the place for long disclaimers. Ads
are simply a method to grab someone's attention and give them a little tease as
to why they should do business with you instead of someone else. Ads keep your
business top-of-mind.